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Personally I,ve pretty much signed off on the orioles..good team but not a playoff teamed marred by lousy pitching..I would explore moving winters in the off season for a badly needed tor guy..dd also needs to do what Boston did this offseason...make some intelligent fa signings..bring on the ravens!!!

I really don't get it. The Baltimore Orioles are ten games above .500, and are on pace to win just under 90 games, in the best division in baseball. Yes, it is and will be a playoff team. O's fans go mad every time Baltimore loses six of ten. The Orioles contain the best defense in baseball, third best offense in baseball, a respectable bullpen, and a solidified rotation after recently acquired Scott Feldman and recently restored Wei Yen Chen came in. And my fellow fans are trying to tell me this is a good team but not a playoff team. HA!

osforlife wrote:my fellow fans are trying to tell me this is a good team but not a playoff team

This team is probably as good as last year's, but with the improved competition within the division IMO it's not a lock to make the playoffs. Frankly, even if we did I wonder how far we would get.

I still see the rotation as a BIG question mark and the bullpen as a small question mark. We can't manufacture runs. Of our four best RH hitters three of them are all or nothing swingers. The only thing we could really depend on in a short series is our defense.

Gausman might be one of the solutions in the bullpen, but using him in that capacity could hamper his development as a SP, and we'll need him in that capacity next year because Hammel and Feldman are gone.

I see this team as the same kind of gamble as going on a long trip in a car that has 200K on the odometer, a couple of iffy tires and trying to decide whether I should spend what little money I have on fixing things on a vehicle that might still break down or saving that money towards my next car.

This team is probably as good as last year's, but with the improved competition within the division IMO it's not a lock to make the playoffs.

I'd say the team is slightly better. The offense and defense has improved, with practically the same quality in the rotation, and a decrease in value from the bullpen, but that is the least important part of the game in terms of offense, defense, starting pitching, relief pitching.

Frankly, even if we did I wonder how far we would get.We can't manufacture runs. Of our four best RH hitters three of them are all or nothing swingers. The only thing we could really depend on in a short series is our defense.

It's the playoffs; anything can happen & nothing can be expected in such a short sample size.

I still see the rotation as a BIG question mark

Can I ask why? 80% of the rotation is of the same above-average #3 quality. Hammel has been the weak spot, but his career suggests his is slightly better than his numbers so far, and is a standard back of the rotation starter.

I want to say that we still have 30+ games remaining against the AL east, we need Hammel to turn it around if we want to keep pace with Boston. I am still hopeful that DD can aquire a bullpen arm to eat up some innings. Hunter, johnson, oday are all over worked.I still think that our SP will not match well against the other playoff contenders.

I think folks need to adjust to the new reality of baseball: there is no longer a paradigmatic vision of a "playoff team." Many teams get to go to the playoffs. Lots of them are flawed. Many of them get their with a hefty dose of luck, even with their flaws.

But then the playoffs happen and the best team doesn't always win.

If your record has you anywhere near contention, it makes every bit of sense to pursue a playoff spot aggressively.

osforlife wrote:Can I ask why? 80% of the rotation is of the same above-average #3 quality. Hammel has been the weak spot, but his career suggests his is slightly better than his numbers so far, and is a standard back of the rotation starter.

I'm not sold on Feldman yet. Two of his three starts have been decent, but I won't feel confident about him until I see the same results in his next three starts.

Hammel has been a major disappointment and really should be placed in the bullpen so he can work out his problems like he did with the Rockies in 2011. Asencio is not the answer but Hammel might be the next Tommy Hunter. I wouldn't be surprised if he couldn't hit the high nineties for one inning or so.

I don't understand why Gausman isn't starting. The team made a big deal about him being ready when he wasn't and when he finally started to get positive results they sent him back to Norfolk.

One hole could be fixed by bringing up Urritia. It looks like he can't prove much else in the minors.

Sad to say but I think it's time to move Reimold for a prospect before the end of the trade deadline. Nolan is taking up a roster spot and as reported yesterday on 105.7 The Fan his defense is getting worse rather than better.

Seafordeagles wrote:Sad to say but I think it's time to move Reimold for a prospect before the end of the trade deadline. Nolan is taking up a roster spot and as reported yesterday on 105.7 The Fan his defense is getting worse rather than better.

I posted several weeks ago that it was time part ways with him, but one of Reimold's biggest fans is Angelos. I'm sure that won't get in the way of a baseball decision, right?